The American Breeders Association (ABA) was the first explicitly eugenic organization in the United States. Agricultural breeders originally established the organization in 1903 as a way to disseminate the latest knowledge on how to plant and harvest more robust strains of corn, wheat, and other produce. In 1906, under the urging of Charles Davenport, the ABA expanded its mission to include a Eugenics Section, dedicated to improving better strains of "human stock." Under Davenport’s leadership 10 different research committees on eugenics were created within the section.

The work of the ABA's Eugenic Section was gradually eclipsed with the establishment of the Eugenics Record Office in 1910. However, throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the section played an important role in promoting eugenics to both academic and general audiences. It published the influential Journal of Heredity during this time period and included many prominent public figures as members, such as David Starr Jordan (President of Stanford University) and Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone).

Image source: Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement (http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/). Image #401, 1911, source: American Philosophical Society.



	American Breeders Association (ABA)
	#401 Date: 1911 Source: American Philosophical Society The American Breeders Association (ABA) was the first explicitly eugenic organization in the United States. Agricultural breeders originally established the organization in 1903 as a way to disseminate the latest knowledge on how to plant and harvest more robust strains of corn, wheat, and other produce. In 1906, under the urging of Charles Davenport, the ABA expanded its mission to include a Eugenics Section, dedicated to improving better strains of "human stock." Under Davenport’s leadership 10 different research committees on eugenics were created within the section. The work of the ABA's Eugenic Section was gradually eclipsed with the establishment of the Eugenics Record Office in 1910. However, throughout the 1900s and 1910s, the section played an important role in promoting eugenics to both academic and general audiences. It published the influential Journal of Heredity during this time period and included many prominent public figures as members, such as David Starr Jordan (President of Stanford University) and Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone). Image source: Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement (http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/). Image #401, 1911, source: American Philosophical Society. Copyright ©2002-2010 Facing History and Ourselves